In chapter 37 Moses starts the story of Joseph. He continues it in chapter 39. His story is in all of the Flannel-Graph Bible story kits. I don't think that one of those kits has the stories related in Genesis 38.
The narrative includes, intermarriage with strange women, seed spilling, betrayal and prostitution. All in good, clean, healthy fun of course. The tale is about Judah. You know, Judah, Jacob’s son. The same Judah who would hear the following blessing from his dying dad in just a few years. I’ve included some highlights of that blessing recorded in chapter 49:
8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; ...
your father’s sons shall bow down before you ...
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him; ...
I again scratch my head in wonder at God’s work and unbounded mercy and grace. These are flowery words for the oaf I seem to be reading about in chapter 37. I always wonder why Moses, while writing the intriguing story of Joseph, all of a sudden sticks this seemingly unrelated, seamy and sordid account here.
We go from innocent Joseph being sold into slavery, which is horrible stuff, to an account of incestuous prostitution to “preserve” a family line. It was an attempt at preserving a family line of intermarriage with Canaanites. Why do we need to know these gory details?
Just a few chapters earlier two brothers, Simeon and Levi, from this “Godly” family, massacre an entire village because a man supposedly raped their sister. In this chapter Judah goes to a “temple” prostitute only to discover later that she is his daughter-in-law who had been promised to his youngest son. A promise that was never fulfilled.
Judah declares Tamar, “more righteous” than himself because she waited for the fulfillment of said promise. His statement comes just after he had demanded she be torched because of her prostitution. Being “more righteous” than Judah seems oxymoronic.
As I mentioned, I always scratch my head when I come to this chapter. And then I remember two other Bible references that mention three of the characters from Genesis 38. You may remember them too. If you read all of the Christmas story beginning with the genealogies then you read the names, Judah, Tamar and Perez. They are found in Matthew 1.3 which reads, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. Perez and Judah are also mentioned in Luke 3.33.
Have you ever seen the Norman Rockwell painting of the “Family Tree”. There is this sweet little boy in the uppermost branches and as the tree is traced to its trunk there are pirates and ladies of the nigh. Jesus family tree was like that. There were scoundrels in the branches. He came from a tree like yours and mine.
What separated him from the wicked lot was his virgin birth. It cut sins root. Nipped it in the bud, to further the horticultural example. The true Lion of Judah was separated from the filth of a rotten man named Judah. His life was lived so that he could separate me from my filthy past. Man, Genesis 37 is a cool chapter! It is full of hope for guys like me!
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